Gladiator School Ruins Found in Austria

School is first discovered outside Italy

Archaeologists have discovered ruins of an ancient gladiator school buried about 24 miles east of Vienna, Austria, the first gladiator school ever found outside of Italy. A group from Vienna's Ludwig-Boltzmann Institute used radar images to chart the layout and structure of the school, which was likely in use some 1,700 years ago. Frank Humer, one of the institute's archaeologists, told The Independent that the school includes sleeping cells, a circular fighting arena with wooden benches, and wooden posts used as dummy opponents in combat training. Gladiators were trained Roman combatants, often prisoners, who fought to the death for public entertainment. Humer said that radar images indicate that there was space for a gladiator graveyard on site. The group plans to excavate for further investigation.